C T Online Desk: Another youth who was injured in clashes between the New Market traders and the students of Dhaka College died at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital early Thursday as more than 1,400 people were made accused in three cases filed over the violence.
A BNP leader was named accused in one of the cases.
Meanwhile, business resumed in the New Market area on Thursday morning amid fear after the traders and students reached an agreement at a midnight meeting.
Vehicular movement became normal in the area with additional police patrol going on.
The shops and markets, however, experienced significantly fewer shoppers than the usual on an Eid-shopping day.
The Dhaka College campus remained quiet throughout the day while most of the students refused to vacate their halls despite the decision of the authorities for their closure.
Morsalin, 27, a shop worker from New Super Market who was severely injured in the violence, died at the DMCH intensive care unit early Thursday.
With his death, two people lost their lives in the two-day violence that reportedly ensued from a trifling matter.
Inspector Bachchu Mia, in-charge of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital police outpost, said that Morsalin died at about 4:36am.
Morsalin’s cousin Jahidur Rahman said that he had sustained severe injuries in the head and had been in a critical condition.
Morsalin, too, like courier service delivery boy Nahid Hasan who died earlier with birdshot marks on the body, lived in Kamrangirchar with his wife and two minor kids.
During the clashes, another shop employee named Shakil had taken Morsalin to the DMCH in a critical condition.
The victim’s brother Noor Mohammad was asking the question as to what would now happen to the minor kids of Morsalin.
The hospital’s forensic doctors said that Morsalin was hit in the head and died due to excessive bleeding and brain hemorrhage.
After analysing footage from close circuit cameras, a senior police official said that they came to learn that the clash broke out on Monday night when some activists of the ruling party student wing, Bangladesh Chhatra League, went to a fast-food shop near New Market’s gate-4 to act on behalf of a trader, who had a dispute with another trader.
Some traders attacked the BCL activists, who then left and came back with their fellows to the spot to join the fight against the traders.
A group of Dhaka College students, at a press conference on Wednesday midnight, blamed traders and the police for the series of clashes.
The students also announced 10-point demands at the press conference that was held at ANM Najib Uddin Khan Khurram Auditorium of the college.
On behalf of the Dhaka College students, Sujoy Bala and Masum Billah read out the demands.
They demanded that attackers should be identified and punished. The students named some perpetrators and demanded their arrests.
The also demanded that the Ramna division deputy commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, an additional deputy commissioner of the division and the officer-in-charge of the New Market police station should be removed, they have to apologise to the Dhaka College administration, CCTV cameras should be installed at all the markets in the area, a code of conduct should be implemented for the shopkeepers, footpaths should be freed from illegal encroachment and extortion must end.
Later, representatives of the Dhaka College teachers and students, traders’ association leaders, police officials and home ministry officials held a meeting at a conference room of the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, said Dhaka College teachers’ association general secretary, Quddus Sikder, who was present at the meeting.
The meeting decided to reopen shops and markets in the New Market area on Thursday, said Quddus.
It was also decided, he said, that the perpetrators must be identified and brought to justice.
The meeting further decided to form a coordination committee comprising Dhaka College teachers, trader leaders and law enforcement officials which will respond swiftly to resolve any issues that might come up in the future.
In response to the demand from the students for the removal of the DC and an ADC of the DMP Ramna division and of the OC of the New Market police station, home ministry officials assured that they would investigate the allegations against the police officials.
Meanwhile, three cases were filed on Wednesday night over the killing of youth Nahid, the attacks on police personnel and the explosion of crude bombs, accusing more than 1,400 people, including 25 identified persons, said DMP New Market zone assistant commissioner Sharif Mohammad Farukuzzaman.
The cases filed over the killing of Nahid and blasting of crude bombs did not mention any accused, but the police assault case named 24 people as accused with New Market BNP leader Mokbul Hossain as a prime accused.
Police officials said that they had used 88 tear shells and 211 rounds of birdshot to bring the situation under control during the series of clashes on Monday night and Tuesday.
Mokbul is a former president of New Market unit of the BNP.
Mokbul said that it was a politically motivated case and he was framed in the case for his political identify.
‘I am a Supreme Court lawyer. I am not engaged in business and I have not been in the New Market area for months. I have rented out my two shops and was in the court during the violence. Now the police have framed me in the case,’ said Mokbul.
New Market Traders’ Association president Dewan Aminul Islam said that Mokbul had just rented out shops allotted in his name. ‘If the people who have rented the shops got involved in the clash, then why should Mokbul be named as an accused in the case?’ he remarked.
DMP New Market AC Sharif said that they were yet to arrest any accused in connection with the violence.
He said that additional police force, frequent patrolling and plainclothes detectives were there in the area to avert any further incidents.
The relevant court has fixed June 7 for the submission of the investigation reports in the three cases.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Shuvra Chakraborty took cognigance of the cases and directed the New Market police station to investigate the cases and submit reports on June 7, reported the New Age court correspondent.
After the shops and markets were opened on Thursday morning, many traders found that the clothing items were burnt to ashes, with many shops vandalised.
Nur Jahan Super Market was the most affected in the violence. Five shops on the ground floor of the market were gutted, said market committee treasurer Md Mohsin.
Kamal Hossain, a trader on the market’s ground floor, said that all the clothing items in his shop were gutted.
He said that the shop had about Tk 25 lakh children’s clothing and nothing was left.
Traders said that each shop, on average, did business worth about Tk one Lakh per day during the Eid festival.
Items in over 100 shops were ruined for smoke of fire.
